As a former diver there are a lot of things that have changed in the sport over forty years. There have been a number of dives added to the rulebooks along with changes in degrees of difficulty. Now that I am nearing the end of my coaching career I’m trying to understand how Diving became and continues to be held to a higher standard than other sports under the National Federation and Illinois High School Association rules?

My confusion began years ago because there was a slight difference in the regulations when Girl’s sport began. Eventually the Girls and Boys were regulated by the same set of rules. This was instituted to maintain consistency. I would like to expand this idea of consistency and compare it with some other sports.

It appears that Diving is the only Sport where a competitor can be disqualified before they ever compete. For every meet a form must be filled out and signed by the diver and coach. If not signed by both, the diver can not compete. The only other sport were a competitor has to sign anything is in golf and that happens at the completion of the event when the golfer signs his/her scorecard. Golf is also unique because the athletes are on an honor system.

A diving form must be completed and deemed correct in order to compete. Swimmers never have to sign or fill out anything before they compete. They are called to the blocks and swim. I bring this up because swimming and diving rules are contained in the same rulebook. Where’s the consistency?

Gymnastics is similar to diving with aerial acrobatics. They do not have to sign anything or turn in a form before they compete. They do routines in competition and can change any moves at any time during the competition without penalty. Divers are locked into their dives once the sheet is turned in at a dual meet or an hour before a championship contest. The result for diving is that a competitive strategy has been taken away. Where is the consistency?

I would guess that some of this might have occurred because of legal advice but even so where is the consistency? Diving has a great safety history and record but not so in some other sports. Where is the same safety concern with the sports that statistically provide more serious injuries than diving?

I am not advocating wholesale changes in the rules. The area I have focused on is more in line with a part of Managing the Competition. This part does not allow for any changes and forces the diver to do what is announced. One must understand that the ability to perform a dive changes from minute to minute and also changes from the time of day the contest begins. An example is most meets are hosted in the late afternoon/early evening. Some are contested in the early morning (Sectional, State Meet and some invites). Also some divers have difficulty adjusting to the differences in certain facilities. All of these situations would make it difficult for the diver to adjust his or her list of dives to the circumstances. But the diver is expected to perform the dives as written and turned in to the referee without regard to the circumstances mentioned above.

Finally with the emphasis seemingly on safety, why are divers forced to do dives when a clerical error may not have been discovered through the current pre-contest protocol? When filling out the form, the diver lists the wrong dive number. When the announcer announces the dive the diver is horrified by the mistake. Currently we force divers to do the dive or take a zero. Most divers, rather than have a failed dive will make an attempt to do the dive announced. Is this consistent with the idea of safety?

The thought of competition means that athletes will have the opportunity to compete. Filling out a diving sheet is not competing. Clerical errors on these sheets have been missed during this process and finally discovered when the event is already in progress. The sheet is a part of a protocol for diving but somehow these protocols have overshadowed the basic idea of competition. What is so wrong that changes can not be made without penalty? I do know by allowing the penalty free change it would be safer for the competitor than the protocol now being enforced. Also, the rules for judging the actual competition, when followed, are very strict so why is there this need for a higher standard in pre-contest protocols?

When less emphasis is placed on pre-contest protocols, diving competition will be more in line with safety and comparable to other sports. Consistency will be achieved with less confusion and angst for the competitor and officials.